Apple AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case review.

The $30 Canadian gap that decides this purchase

American reviews keep saying the upgraded AirPods 5 cost $20 more than the base pair. In Canada it's $30. Apple.ca sells the AirPods 5 for $179 and the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case for $209, and Best Buy Canada lines up at $179.99 and $209.99. Amazon.ca was the outlier on October 13, with the base pair at $174.99 and the wireless case model at $209.00. That makes the gap closer to $34 there.

This review covers the $209 model, the one The Verge and Tom's Guide reviewed and the one Engadget recommended after trying both. It's a research review: we haven't had a pair in our ears. We've read the testing from The Verge, Engadget, Tom's Guide and RTINGS, Apple's own spec sheets, and early owner threads on Reddit, then put the money in Canadian terms.

So the question is simple. Is an open-fit AirPod with noise cancelling now good enough that most iPhone owners can skip AirPods Pro, and is the extra $30 worth it? Short version: yes to the $30, and yes to skipping Pro, with one big battery caveat.

What actually changed from the AirPods 4, and what Apple held back

Last generation you had to buy a separate AirPods 4 with ANC to get noise cancelling. Now both AirPods 5 models have it. Apple claims up to 1.5 times the noise cancelling of the AirPods 4 with ANC and calls it the best open-ear ANC available. Both models also move from IP54 to IP57, get a redesigned multiport acoustic design that Apple says adds depth and detail, and keep Live Translation, Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness.

What didn't change matters too. The Verge notes the buds and case look identical to the AirPods 4. Tom's Guide points out it's still the H2 chip and still Bluetooth 5.3. In the US, The Verge says the wireless case model costs $30 less than the AirPods 4 with ANC it replaces, so Apple cut the price rather than raising it.

Apple held a few things back for the step-up model. Only the wireless case version gets the stem volume swipe, the Find My speaker in the case, Qi and Apple Watch charger support, and the fifth hour of battery. The base model is USB-C only and rated for four hours with ANC on.

Who shouldn't upgrade? If you own AirPods 4 with ANC, they fit well and the battery still gets you through your commute, the jump is real but modest. Owners on r/airpods who made that switch mostly praise the stronger ANC, especially on planes.

Noise cancelling with no ear tips: how far it actually goes

This is the headline feature, and the testers agree it's strong for open-fit buds. RTINGS gives it the most credit. Its lab found excellent attenuation across the frequency range, and it rates the AirPods 5 as very good for travel against airplane, street and conversation noise. Those results got plenty of attention on r/airpods, because open earbuds rarely test this well.

The reviewers who wore them day to day are a bit more measured. Engadget found the cancelling works best on steady sounds like HVAC hum and white noise, while voices get quieter rather than disappearing. Tom's Guide could still hear car horns and chatter over a 68 dB city-noise track, and could hear its own keyboard in the office, which it says doesn't happen with AirPods Pro 3. The Verge calls the improvement over AirPods 4 slight.

Tom's Guide also flagged a faint hiss with ANC on and nothing playing. That won't matter with music, but it might if you like using noise cancelling on its own to think in a busy room.

My read: on the GO train, a TTC bus or a noisy open office, this is plenty. If you want near-silence on a red-eye or next to a construction site, the sealed fit of AirPods Pro 3 still does more. The next question is whether you can keep them running long enough to enjoy that quiet.

Five hours is the number every reviewer flagged

Apple rates the wireless case model at five hours with ANC on and 22 hours with the case. The testing lines up almost exactly. RTINGS measured 5.1 hours of continuous playback and 22.5 hours including the case. Engadget ran them with ANC on and Spatial Audio off and had 5 to 7 percent left at the five-hour mark.

Hitting the claim isn't the same as being good, though. The Verge lists below-average battery as its main con and Tom's Guide calls it very disappointing. Tom's Guide's fitness editor wore AirPods 5 on a 22-mile run and was getting low-battery warnings in the last mile, after a dog walk and roughly three hours of running.

Here's what that means in real life. A Toronto-to-Vancouver flight is roughly five hours, so you'd be cutting it fine without a case break. A full workday of calls won't fit on one charge either. The quick charge helps: Apple says five minutes in the case gives about an hour, so dropping them in the case over lunch fixes most days.

The base model is worse here, at four hours with ANC. That missing hour is one of the reasons the extra $30 makes sense. If battery is your top worry, Apple's own comparison chart rates AirPods Pro 3 at up to eight hours with ANC.

Better sound, as long as the one-size fit works for you

Sound is the surprise in these reviews. Engadget was struck by the bass, which open-style earbuds usually struggle with, and says instruments have more texture and detail. Tom's Guide disliked the AirPods 4 and calls the AirPods 5 a different story, with no tinny treble and controlled mids. The Verge lists improved sound among its positives.

RTINGS adds a useful detail. It measured bass and treble both a little underemphasized, about 5 dB, for a fairly flat overall sound, and found the sound stays very consistent between wears. That consistency matters with open earbuds, because they don't seal and could easily sound different every time you put them in.

Fit is the gamble. RTINGS lists the one-size shell as a con and says comfort depends on whether it suits your ears. On r/airpods and r/apple, owners split hard: some ditched AirPods Pro because ear tips felt warm or sore, while plenty of others say regular AirPods loosen when they chew, lean or turn their head. Tom's Guide's reviewer, who has very small ears, wore them about six hours without pain.

My advice: try a pair at an Apple Store before buying, or buy somewhere with an easy return. The Verge says the buds look identical to the AirPods 4, so if those fit you, these should too.

The smart features need an iPhone, and one skips Canadian English

A lot of what makes AirPods worth it is Apple software. RTINGS points out that many of these features are limited to Apple devices. On Android you get decent Bluetooth earbuds with good ANC, but you lose automatic device switching, the settings menu and Personalized Spatial Audio. At $209 there are better Android picks.

Live Translation is the one to check before you buy. The Verge says it needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later, and Apple says it needs Apple Intelligence and the latest firmware. Apple's iOS 27 feature-availability page lists Live Translation with AirPods for US and UK English and France French, but not for Canadian English or Canadian French, even though other Apple Intelligence features list both. If translation is a reason you're buying, test it on your own iPhone before your return window closes.

The Find My speaker in the case also needs iOS 27 or later, according to Apple's spec page. If your iPhone can't run iOS 27, you lose that perk.

Tom's Guide also criticizes Apple for sticking with Bluetooth 5.3 when Samsung's Galaxy Buds 4 use Bluetooth 6.1. In its apartment, the connection held to the lobby downstairs before dropping. That's fine for most people, but it's a sign Apple saved its newest hardware for the Pro line.

AirPods Pro 3, Galaxy Buds4 and Sony at Canadian prices

AirPods Pro 3 are the obvious alternative. Apple.ca lists them at $329, but Best Buy Canada had them at $299.99 on October 13, only $91 more than the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case. For that you get silicone tips with a proper seal, stronger isolation according to Tom's Guide, up to eight hours with ANC per Apple, heart-rate sensing and Apple's hearing protection features. If your ears tolerate tips, I'd stretch to the Pro 3 at that price.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds4 were $199.99 at Best Buy Canada, down $50, with Galaxy Buds4 Pro at $264.99. They're the pick for Android phones, especially Samsung ones. The newer Bluetooth 6.1 is a nice bonus, but Samsung's own extras don't help much on an iPhone.

Sony's WF-1000XM6 were $299 at Best Buy Canada. They're for people who want the strongest seal and lots of app control, and our reviews of the older Sony WF-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II cover what you give up by buying last generation's sealed buds on sale instead.

The AirPods 5 win in one specific spot: iPhone owners who can't stand ear tips. Nothing else at this price combines open comfort with this much noise cancelling.

Batteries, repairs and the return window in Canada

Small earbud batteries wear out, and that's usually what ends a pair of AirPods. There's some good news this time. iFixit's teardown, reported by MacRumors, gave the AirPods 5 a 2 out of 10 for repairability. That sounds terrible, but every earlier AirPods model scored zero. The earbud batteries now use pronged connectors you can unplug instead of being soldered in, though left and right batteries aren't interchangeable. iFixit still calls the case a disaster to open.

That doesn't make this a home repair for most people. The practical safety net is AppleCare+. Apple Canada's AppleCare page says it covers battery replacement when capacity drops below 80 percent and charges $39 per incident for accidental damage. Without it, you get Apple's standard one-year limited warranty.

Returns are worth planning around because of the fit question. Apple's Canadian store allows returns for roughly two weeks after delivery (confirm the exact terms at checkout), and products bought at Best Buy or Amazon.ca go back to that retailer under its own policy. In r/airpods fit threads, several owners say they returned open-style AirPods inside that window and switched to AirPods Pro 3 because the buds kept loosening.

One common first-week worry on Reddit: the case battery drains even while you're not listening. Owners explain that's normal, because the case keeps the buds topped up and stays in touch with Find My. Charge the case every few days and you'll be fine.

Buy the wireless case model, or skip to Pro 3

Buy the AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case if you're on an iPhone, open-style AirPods fit you, and you listen in stretches of a few hours: commuting, gym sessions, working at a café. Pay the $30 over the base model. The volume swipe, Find My speaker, wireless charging and fifth hour of battery add up to more than $30 of everyday use, which is why The Verge, Engadget and r/airpods regulars all land in the same place.

Skip the base AirPods 5 entirely. At $179 it's hard to recommend when the better pair is a small step up.

Skip both if earbuds without tips fall out of your ears, if you need more than five hours at a time, or if you're on Android. Go for AirPods Pro 3 at $299.99 if you're on an iPhone, or Galaxy Buds4 at $199.99 if you're on a Samsung phone. If you already have AirPods 4 with ANC that fit and last, wait for a sale or a dying battery before you upgrade.